Traction-wheel.



4o parts broken'away,

i between jnnirnn 'STATES PATENT oirrcn.

y EioMUND F. PIPER, or. FARGO, NoRrH DAKOTA.

n vTnAczrloN-WHEri-:L l l 10 a/ZZ whom z'tmwy concern: Be it known that I, EDMUNDY'F. PIPER, a citizen ofthe United States, residing at-Fargo, *y in the county of Cassy and State of North Da- I 5 kota-,ghavev invented certain new and useful `Improvements in Traction-Wheels and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to to which it -appertains to make and yusethe same. f My invention relates to traction-wheels, and hasfor its object'to provideself-clearing mud-cleats'therefor. l l A To the above ends the invention consists of the novel devices 'and combinations of de vices hereinafter described, and'deiined in the claim.

Hitherto the mud cleats or lugs of tractionzo Wheels suchl as used on traction-engines and as the driving'-l wheels of harvesters have been rigidly secured to the periphery of the f Wheel, so that in clay or sticky soil thedirt adhering thereto often renders them practi- 2 5 cally useless.y

l with v movable self cleaning ,mud cleats,

. which Work through the rim of the wheel.V

Movements are imparted 'to these mud-cleats 3o by cam or eccentric actuated connections, the preferred arrangement being illustrated in the drawings. 1

'In the drawings like characters indicate like parts throughout the several views. 3 5 Figure 1 is aviewin side elevation, showing a traction-wheel designed. in accordance with my invention. Fi 2 is a horizontal section 1 3 is a view in side elevationwit illustrating a modified form of the invention; and Fig; 4 is a view, partly in plan and partly in section, 'on the ine x4 :v4 of Fig. 3. 1

Referring 'iirst to the construction illus- -45 trated in Figs. l'and l2,l the numeral 1 indicates the sleeve-like hub, the numeral 2 the wide-faced rim, and the numeral, 3 the spokes of a traction-wheel, such as used on traction-4 engines. In its rim the wheel is `provided the spokes with transverselyextended slots 4, and-near one end of each slot 'said rim is provided With lugsy 5. To .each lug 5 is pivoted at one enda plate-like mudlange 6, that is adapted to work' reely,but

Specic'atonof Letters atent. ppliiiation filed April 29,1905. Serial No. 258,00'7-l My invention provides the traction-wheel' takenapproximate y on the line m2 m2 of Patented March 20, 1906.

slot 4.

Aixed trunnion or shaft 7` projects through the hub portion of the. traction-wheel and, as shown, is rigidly secured tion 8 of the engine-frame. vLoosely mounted on the trunnion 7, outside of the hub 1, is an eccentric l9, upon which is mounted an eccentric-strap 10, which is provided with yone or more laterallyprojecting lugs 11, that engage an adjacent spoke 3, and therebycauses said eccentric-.strap to rotate'with the wheel, While permitting the same a slight vibratory movement transvese to the axis thereof; Links 12 pivotally connect the free ends of the movable mud-ilarig/lrs 6 with the said eccentric-strap 10.

Rigidly secured to the extreme outer end of the trunnion 7 is a flanged sleeve 13, the flange of which has Ia plurality of bolt-holes 14.1 Byv means of a may be passed through either ofthe holes 14j flanged non-rotary several positions.

. Whenl the eccentric 9 is anchored in its lowermost position, as shown in Fig. 1, it Will ground-engaging l portion of the rim; but

when said eccentric is turn'ed into its uppermost position, or at one hundred and eighty degrees from the position shown in Fig. 1, it will cause the said mud-flanges to project through the rim of the wheel only at the u perinost position thereof and will draw tle same into the rim of the wheel at the lowermostor ground-engaging portion of the rim. The former adjustment is of course desirable hard smooth ground.

. As is evident, under. the constantly-vibrating movements imparted tothe mudflanges under the rotation ofthe wheel the the said iianges clean and preventing accumulation of mud on the outer face of the vwheel-rim.

The construction illustrated in Figs. 3 and f with cl'se engagement, through the adjacent at one end toa por' Wheel-riin acts as a. stripper-plate to scrape. mud from said mud-flanges, thereby keeping machine-bolt 15, Which ythe eccentric 9 may be anchored Ito the sleeve 13 in any one of `act upon the eccentric-strap 10 and through roo f when the Wheel 1s runnlng over plowed`or soft ground, while the latter adjustment is' desirable when the wheel is running over- .4 isithe sarne as that already described, ex-

cept that the slots 4 in the wheel-rim are extended carcurnfe'rentially thereof and the oscillatinr mud-flanges 6 are arranged in the plane o? the wheel'-that is, circumferentially thereof. is especially adapted for use on wheels that are subjected to lateral or sidewise crowding strains.

From what has been said it Will be under stood that the device described is capable of many modifications within the scope of my invention as herein set forth and claimed. The movable mud-flanges, whilepreferably pivoted, may be otherwise mountedfor Inove-` Inents through the wheel-rirn, and the eccentricallyactuated connection for operating the said mud-'flanges might involve an irregular cam instead of thecylindrical eccentric and eccentric-strap.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Let This latter-described construction ters Patent of the United States, is as iollows:

A traction-wheel having'a plurality 'of pivoted niud-ianges arranged to work through the rim thereof, Aan eccentric at the axis of said wheel, means for anchoring said eccentric in different positions circumferentially with respect to the wheel, an eccentric-strap on said eccentric having a lug engageable with one of the Wheel-spokes, whereby it is caused to rotate with the wheel, but is free to vibrate transversely with respect to the axis thereof, and links connecting said eccentricstrap to the free ends ofsaid inud-ianges, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I ailix my signature in presence of' two witnesses.

Witnesses:

ALICE R. BLAIR, V. R. LovELL. 

